Spirit Lake raced to 13-0 lead Friday night before Estherville-Lincoln Central even sniffed the football, and went on to a 41-7 victory to keep their perfect season in tact. Aric Waltz score the first of his two touchdowns on the opening series, then the Indians recovered an on-side kick, setting up a touchdown pass from Paul Brown to Rick Maris. Spirit Lake would tack on another seven when Zach Herrig caught a TD pass late in the first and led 27-0 at the break. The Indians amassed 300 yards on the ground, with Dylan Bryce going for 82 yards, Brown for 60 yards, and Waltz for another 51 yards. Brown also finished with 137 yards passing on 15 completions, five of which were caught by Herrig for 81 yards. Defensively, the Indians forced eight turnovers and limited to Midgets to just 27 yards on the ground. Evan Hansen led ELC with 213 yards through the air with 15 completions and a touchdown toss to Matt Burrell in the fourth quarter. Hansen was picked off five times. The Midgets fall to 1-6 on the season and 0-4 in district play, with a road trip to Sioux Center next week. Spirit Lake is 7-0 overall and in first place in district play at 4-0. The Indians return home Friday to host Unity Christian live on KUOO.
Click here to listen to postgame comments from Kevin Martinson, Alex Dau, and coach Josh Bolluyt.
Elsewhere in Class 2A District 1, Sheldon upended the high scoring Knights, 41-16, while Central Lyon-GLR kept their district title hopes alive with a 40-7 victory against Western Christian.
Homecoming provided the back drop for Emmetsburg to continue their undefeated run on Friday, taking down Sibley-Ocheyedan by a 40-6 margin. The E-Hawks ran to 382 yards, with Brady Berkland gaining 171 yards with three touchdowns. Andrew Wellik also surpassed the century mark with 110 yards and a score. Emmetsburg forced five Generals turnovers. Sibley-Ocheyedan did their damage through the air, with Owen Wiese throwing for 144 yards on seven completions and a touchdown. He also threw three picks. The Generals are now 3-4 overall and 2-3 in the district with a home date against defending state champ West Lyon on the schedule for next week. Emmetsburg is 7-0 this fall and 5-0 in district play. They will travel to Alta/Aurelia next Friday on Y100.
Other scores from Class 1A, include Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn dropping a defensive struggle in overtime, losing 3-0 at Pocahontas Area/Pomeroy-Palmer. The Hawks are also 2-3 in district games and 3-4 overall. They host rival South O’Brien in a week on Q102. The Wolverines will be coming off a crucial 29-0 shutout of Alta/Aurelia, and West Lyon blanked Sioux Central 27-0.
The Homecoming celebration at Graettinger-Terril was spoiled by visiting Harris-Lake Park, as the Wolves surpassed the Knights, 26-12. Tanner Hiveley’s first of two interceptions led to a Brady Nissen touchdown run, handing HLP an early lead. Hiveley then turned his second INT into another six points on a touchdown catch from Colin Brons and the Wolves took a 19-6 advantage into the locker room. Nissen finished with 41 yards rushing and a score, while Brons threw for 119 yards on ten completions. Eli Ihnen caught six balls for 76 yards, while also rushing for two TDs. The Knights received 173 yards of passing from Blaze Alesch on thirteen passes, two resulting in touchdowns. Garrett Parker hauled in five passes for 90 yards. G-T falls to 2-5 overall and 2-3 in district matchups, with a trip to CWL left for next week. HLP boasts a final regular season record of 7-2 and 5-2 in district play. They will not play again until the postseason.
One other 8-man result from Friday saw undefeated West Bend-Mallard trounce CWL, 78-12.
In Class 3A, the Spencer Tigers put a scare into undefeated and third-ranked Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley, leading 10-7 at the half. However, the Nighthawks recovered to earn a 37-16 victory, dropping Spencer to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the district. Elsewhere, MOC-Floyd Valley defeated Storm Lake, 26-6, Bishop Heelan beat Denison-Schleswig, 37-16, and Sergeant Bluff-Luton got by LeMars, 21-13.
Over in Class A, Clay Central-Everly remains winless on the year, falling on Homecoming against Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn, 40-8.
North of the border, Jackson County Central lost a lopsided non-conference game at West Central, SD, 47-7. Fairmont destroyed St. James, 65-13. Martin County West had little trouble with G-F-W, 50-28, and Worthington fell on the road at Luverne, 36-8.
